Torque bars, also known as torque transmitting drive lugs, are employed in aircraft wheel and brake assemblies to couple the wheels to the rotors of the brake assembly. The torque bars typically extend parallel to the wheel axis and have an outboard end inserted in an aperture formed in the web of the wheel and an inboard end attached to a radially inner side of the wheel at the inboard end of the wheel. To minimize thermal conduction from the brake assembly to the wheel rim, the central portion of the torque bar is radially spaced from the well of the wheel, and usually a heat shield is located in this space.
Torque bars of the type just described are susceptible to vibration which can result in excessive torque bar deflection both radially and tangentially relative to the wheel. To overcome deflection problems, a common practice was to use relatively heavy torque bars to provide the necessary strength and resistance to deflection. This undesirably increases the weight of the wheel and brake assembly, which is particularly undesirable in aircraft.